The Giants say they prepared all week to face either Alex Smith or Trent Dilfer at quarterback and the news that Dilfer will start tomorrow for the 49ers does not change much of anything.

Smith, a former No. 1 pick, has been out with a separated right shoulder and Dilfer stepped in for the majority of the past two games. The Giants expected Smith to return, but Niners coach Mike Nolan stated that although Smith has healed, he’s not convinced he’s ready to face the Giants and so Dilfer will get the call.

“He’s a really smart quarterback, manages the game well,” linebacker Antonio Pierce said of Dilfer. “Of course, he’s gotten older but he’s capable of being a starter in this league.”

In his 14th NFL season, Dilfer has been a starter before, mostly a mediocre starter. Giants fans will forever remember him as the quarterback of the Ravens when they beat Big Blue in Super Bowl XXXV, although Dilfer had little to do with Baltimore’s rout.

“Dilfer’s been to the Super Bowl before,” cornerback Sam Madison said. “He’s not going to lose the football game for them. He’s going to put the ball where it’s supposed to be placed.”

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Tom Coughlin, a big admirer of Joe Torre, was saddened to see his managerial stay with the Yankees come to an end.

“In good times and bad times what I’ve observed and what I admire so much in Joe Torre is he’s handled each situation with class and dignity,” Coughlin said.

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Signed after the first game of the season, former Ram Madison Hedgecock appears to have found a home as the Giants fullback.

“I got an opportunity here and I’ve got to make the best of it, because I think they did me a wrong in St. Louis, I didn’t deserve none of that,” he said.

Hedgecock spent the past two years in St. Louis, but was cut by first-year Rams coach Scott Linehan after the season opener.

“Why would you get rid of a key person in your offense after your first game?” Hedgecock asked. “I made the team, I played the first game. The head coach had a guy he wanted to bring in, one of his old players.”

Reminded that the Rams are 0-6, Hedgecock added: “Yeah, 0-6, I’m happy. Every day they lose, I laugh. And every day we win, I laugh.”

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Anthony Wright is the No. 2 quarterback, a switch that took place weeks ago after Jared Lorenzen was sidelined with a sprained ankle.

“Right now Anthony is two and that is it,” Coughlin said. “There has been no real discussion about it. We kind of look at it on a week-to-week basis.”